Tesla is Not Treating Us Like Customers

[Coolbreeze704]

I wish I could agree with you, but I am a very early reservation owner and nothing yet as an offer from Tesla. so IMO Tesla is targeting the influencers and high dollar people. No concerned with your position in line. I happen to know some people even lower reservations in line than I have and they have not heard anything. They also live in Austin area.
If your position was actually true, Tesla would have gone down the line and sent offers to each person. Not choose people 50K in line over 100-200 in line.

There is an odd selection pattern for invites going on but I can assure you my selection (11282) has nothing to do with being high dollar or an influencer (unless COC reaction score counts /s)

Now I am a share holder and own a MY but so are many who are first day place holders that have not received invites.

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[bdog]

I wish I could agree with you, but I am a very early reservation owner and nothing yet as an offer from Tesla. so IMO Tesla is targeting the influencers and high dollar people. No concerned with your position in line. I happen to know some people even lower reservations in line than I have and they have not heard anything. They also live in Austin area.
If your position was actually true, Tesla would have gone down the line and sent offers to each person. Not choose people 50K in line over 100-200 in line.

I get what you're saying but a lot of us that did get the invite (including me) are in no way famous, celebrities, or influencers. I am nobody. Never owned a Tesla. Don't influence anyone other than hopefully my kids. I just had an early reservation and it probably helps that I'm not in CA or TX. I realize that sounds contradictory since they said they'd focus on those two states but I think they're trying to not oversaturate a particular area. My thought is that they're going in order of reservation number BUT also giving priority to certain geographic areas and once those are "saturated" they focus on other geographic areas in order of RN. I realize I could be wrong but this is how it looks to me.

ALSO to the original poster, nobody is forcing you to buy the FS. Just don't buy it if you don't want to spend an extra $20k on something you can't drive first. Then wait until FS is done. At that point you probably have much better opportunity to drive one (there will be more information out about it, etc) before buying and you won't pay the extra $20k. You'll still keep your "relative" place in line (from what we know) if you just don't order the FS. They are giving people that are early adopters (and perhaps a little crazy - like myself) and that don't mind spending extra on something they can't drive, the opportunity to do just that. Nobody is being forced. Am I stupid? Probably. But I'm also pretty excited to pay way too much money for something I MIGHT like

 

[OnTheSnap]

The 500-mile range claim was featured on the Tesla Cybertruck web page for about four years, starting right after the initial announcement in November 2019 and continuing almost until the delivery event in November 2023.

Here is an image captured by the Wayback Machine on December 1, 2019; it is archived here: https://web.archive.org/web/20191201041002/https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck

The Cybertruck website changed over time, but it continued to advertise "up to 500 miles of range". Here is an image from November 28, 2023 (two days before the delivery event); it is archived here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20231128195131/https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck

And it will have 500mi range. Just not gen1. Which can only get to 470 EPA miles by removing half the truck bed.

look - back in 2019 Tesla thought they had some battery breakthroughs that would dump cost and increase capacity. Decrease weight. There was a lot of battery buzz back then. But it didn’t work out. Yet. Batteries at scale are hard to develop.

so if you want your 500mi+ beast as envisioned by Elon and his engineers in 2019 - wait another 2-3 years. They are not standing still.

Bottom line -

Tesla decided Cybertruck gen1 was good enough, no GREAT, to compete in the current EV truck marketplace. Continued demand and hype is validating the decision to not hold back more years to develop new battery chemistry.

It’s meets all my needs. And the extra $20K includes all the things I was going to buy anyway. So for me I feel like an extra $5K to get in the front of the line is a no brainer.

Realistically Tesla ramps to maybe 100K trucks this year. So we need more people like you to drop out so people that love the truck can get one.

 

[HaulingAss]

What they did produce is a truck with “260” miles or range according to your statement. That’s what you have to decide you want to purchase or not. Anything that was said, documented, reported on, or shown prior to this truck being released is also irrelevant. What is relevant is the the truck that’s available. If you want it fine. If not fine but stop complaining like a 5 year old that mom promised a cookie to when we got home them made you clean your room for it. “But mom you promised!”

100% !!

I'm convinced some people will never be satisfied with themselves, therefore their mission in life is to spread their unhappiness to everyone else by being negative Nellies and Debbie downers and acting like their unhappiness is someone elses fault. Because they hate it when anyone around them is satisfied and happy.

 

[Coolbreeze704]

100% !!

I'm convinced some people will never be satisfied with themselves, therefore their mission in life is to spread their unhappiness to everyone else by being negative Nellies and Debbie downers and acting like their unhappieness is someone elses fault. Because they hate it when anyone around them is satisfied and happy.

They usually don't last long here. They come in like a storm and pick as many arguments as possible, particularly with strong, knowledgeable people on the site then flitter away over time.

 

[HaulingAss]

What people seem to forget is, that the CT is sold out for the next 5 to 8 years. Would you buy or order a car now, when you know for 100% that you'll never get it before 2029-2032 ?

It's clear the Cybertruck is going to grow wildly in popularity beyond the original reservations. But even I don't believe people with high reservation numbers won't be filled for 5-8 years because many of those reservations were placed "just in case" or with an eye to profiting from the reservatine line by scalping them. I think Tesla has taken charge of the situation and effectively prevented mass-scalping. Sure, there will be scattered examples (maybe) of scalping from people who don't care about the consequences, but not many.

For example, I have placed three reservations, on different days, averaging a few hundred thousand apart, in case my Cybertruck is totalled and needs replacement, or a new configuration becomes available that I want, or maybe my life changes and I need two of them. It's simply cheap insurance against multi-year waits. Others have done the same which means a high percentage of existing reservations will be abandoned. After all, they only cost a fully refundable $100.

The real concern here are all the new people who will want Cybertruck when they see it and learn about its functionality, durability, capacities, range, comfort, etc. Even now, many people don't know what it is when they see it for the first time. And I have seen many people who thought it looked ridiculous in 2019 fall in love with it's futuristic aesthetic, once they saw it in person. Now they must have one for themself. Sometimes it only takes seeing it in person.

I can answer the question you posed: Why would you buy or order a car now, when you know for 100% that you'll never get it before 2029-2032?

First off, it's not a choice of having to buy it, or order it, now, it's just a reservation establishing a place in line, with no commitment, because it's fully refundable. Tesla is the least likely automaker to go out of business so it's not like your capital is at risk beyond lost interest or investment potential. But this can be somewhat mitigated by considering the deposit as part of any responsible person's emergency fund. Sure, it takes a few weeks to liquidate it, but that should still bolster the portion your emergency fund that is not needed immediately. I would argue that almost anyone who thinks they might want to purchase a Cybertruck in the future should put a deposit down now because the lost opportunity of $250 is not huge, relative to the options it potentially opens up for you in the future. At any point, if your perceived needs or wants change, simply cancel your reservation.

That said, I am recommending something that goes against my own best interests. Because more reservations mean I have to place more reservations myself at $250 a pop to keep my future options open without multi-year waits. More reservations and sales also mean the price of Cybertruck will stay high, for longer, for any future Cybertruck purchases I may make. The laws of supply and demand are real. On the other hand, more reservations may encourage Tesla to ramp more production lines which would make Cybertruck more ubiquitous. I would like that because I like a world with less big tailpipes spewing toxic gasses.

 

[salderose]

My beef with Tesla can be best equated to why Jay Leno doesn't own any Ferraris:

"you know you're spending a tremendous amount of money you should be made to feel like a customer "

We're spending a LOT of money on the Cybertruck. Yet Tesla, with ZERO communication, ZERO transparency regarding the product launch, not allowing anyone to even sit in the trucks in showrooms, being forced to pay a $20k 'Foundation' markup, HALF of the promised range... it feels very much like a Ferrari experience.

"Oh you wanted a reasonably priced truck that beats out the competiton in range, features, etc.? Fuck you, pay $100,000 for fewer features and less range, or get to the back of the line. You should be grateful for the PRIVILEGE to even hold a reservation"

I'm not feeling very much like a customer with the Cybertruck launch. It makes me want to reconsider the whole thing.

Interested to hear other's thoughts.

first, thanks for your posting. I do not post often but I 100% agree with you and Jay on this. Tesla doesn’t care and there is enough demand that they don’t need to. Buying my model Y was the worst buying experience of my life! lol There is no communication, no one to speak with, no place to get answers, it’s just horrible. Spend $70,000 through an app and just be grateful lol it’s a little mind-boggling.

On the positive side, I’ve never had more fun driving a car lol almost every time I get out of my model why I have a huge smile on my face ?? I don’t know if I’m going to move forward buying a Cybertruck but since I probably won’t see one until 2025 I’m not gonna worry about it right now lol

 

[HaulingAss]

They usually don't last long here. They come in like a storm and pick as many arguments as possible, particularly with strong, knowledgeable people on the site then flitter away over time.

Actually, many posters here violate the terms of service, simply by establishing another alias. There is a lot of insincere activity here, multiple account holders with multiple aliases and accounts who spew negativity constantly. I applaud the efforts of mods who try to snuff out those accounts, but it's a huge and thankless job, and the easy availability of Virtual Private Networks around the globe makes it that much harder.

 

[HaulingAss]

Has anyone at Tesla said there is a line? Show me one piece of Tesla created anything that says your RN equates to a place in line.

Tesla has never said your place in line is absolute, in fact they specifically say they reserve the right to simply refuse to do business with anyone they don't want to sell a car to.

It's pretty obvious that Tesla is "batching" reservations. Meaning they take a range or batch of reservations, for example anyone who ordered the first day, or the first 100,000 reservations, or whatever number they determine makes the most sense, and then using other criteria (or a random lottery) send out invites to order.

It doesn't mean your place in line doesn't matter; it means it's not necessarily absolute.

 

[Outdoors]

Tesla has never said your place in line is absolute, in fact they specifically say they reserve the right to simply refuse to do business with anyone they don't want to sell a car to.

It's pretty obvious that Tesla is "batching" reservations. Meaning they take a range or batch of reservations, for example anyone who ordered the first day, or the first 100,000 reservations, or whatever number they determine makes the most sense, and then using other criteria (or a random lottery) send out invites to order.

It doesn't mean your place in line doesn't matter; it means it's not necessarily absolute.

Nice explanation, but you again inferred Tesla said something. Show me where about a line equates to an RN or a line you stood outside a store in. It does not exist. Yet some perpetuate the thought then transfer it to forums.

 

[carsly]

What will people complain about next? How about the Roadster 2020 (remember that?) wasn't delivered in 2020? or 2021? or 2022? or 2023? Where are my SpaceX cold air rocket thrusters?

I suppose you could complain that despite having a 4K tv for over a decade most cable companies still broadcast hundreds of channels in SD and only a few dozen in HD.

Or maybe complain about rampant inflation (thank both parties, please) and how it's minimizing the value of the dollar and threatening the US economy by the dollar losing its stature as a global reserve currency?

Or maybe your 24 oz box of cereal now only has 20oz despite being the same size.

Look, complainers will always find something to complain about. You've have four years to build your own EV truck company if you didn't like the direction Tesla was headed. How are your vehicles turning out?

 

[carsly]

Tesla has never said your place in line is absolute, in fact they specifically say they reserve the right to simply refuse to do business with anyone they don't want to sell a car to.

It's pretty obvious that Tesla is "batching" reservations. Meaning they take a range or batch of reservations, for example anyone who ordered the first day, or the first 100,000 reservations, or whatever number they determine makes the most sense, and then using other criteria (or a random lottery) send out invites to order.

It doesn't mean your place in line doesn't matter; it means it's not necessarily absolute.

It can't be absolute. Look, there is no way Tesla has trained every tech in every service center to support Cybertruck, which may only exist in the dozens of units today. Some, really a handful, of techs have likely been trained. Most are in CA or TX (where they also have easier factory/engineer access for early support). Some of those trained techs are at other service centers. BUT not all service centers have trained techs, at least not yet. Maybe that changes by the end of this year.

So Tesla really can only distribute Cybertruck within a reasonable radius of a service center with one or more trained techs. That's inevitably part of the ramp/invite system. They know that early support issues get magnified so Tesla will want to ensure that at least some support infrastructure exists. That's just smart business.

 

[lowtek]

When a business advertises a product with specs, takes people's money based on those specs, then does not update those specs for 4 years and then changes them DRASTICALLY, I don't think it is unreasonable for people to have an issue with that.

It said plain as day (and you agreed) "price and features may change" when you reserved. You can get your $100 back. You either want it or you don't. None of us care. Although, not sure why you're here if you don't want one, seems like a waste of your time.

Also, "drastically" is relative. Seems to me they added some [features] and some didn't make the cut.

It's likely they didn't know the final specs until very late in the process, no foul there. A mass produced vehicle is engineered along side the production line with tradeoffs going both directions.

The concept CyberTruck you saw revealed was built in 93 days, it's in no way comparable to the production version beyond the likeness.

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